Too costly to compete? The growing challenge facing youth sports in N.B.

Shannon Phillips's daughter Aubree has been involved in sports since she was fouryears old. Now at age 10, she plays competitive hockey, softball and lacrosse.

Phillips and her husband also get involved, sometimes coaching, running the clock, or even acting as the team's safety person. And they love it.

"When you're sitting there in a freezing cold rink with a hot drink and your little blanket wrapped around you and cheering on your kid, I feel like a true Canadian."

But competitive sport is big business these days, and it's one that often comes with a hefty price tag.

In Phillips'scase, she says they spent 25 nights in hotels for sports travel last year, spending$5,000 to $6,000plus thecost of gas anddining at restaurants with the team.

"When I sat down and actually thought about every single weekend that we had spent away for sports, it's a huge shocker," she said. "You think of other things that you could have put that money toward. But at the end of the day, this is where it's best spent for our family."

Phillips saidher daughter doesn't always get the latest hockey stickor hockey bag. But if Aubree gets invited to play in a tournament, they say yes.

"We do love doing it, and we make it happen," Phillips says. "It keeps her healthy and active and in a really good social circle. She has friends within school, she has friends within sports and wherever she goes in the city."

Phillips saidthey've made friends through their daughter's sports as well, so they enjoy being involved. But she wonders how other families with multiple children manage to keep them in competitive sports. And not just hockey.

"If you look at dance, cheerleading, gymnastics and horseback riding, all that stuff is way more expensive even than hockey," she said."When you get into a high level in anything competitiveit's going to start being expensive, whether it's the travel or private coaching that you need to go along with it."

It's not just competitive sports that are suffering from higher costs, according to Cheryl MacDonald, CEO of Sport New Brunswick.She said she sees it in recreational leagues now as well.

"Even at the lower levels of the competition, travel is being added. And I think that for those who can afford it and who have the time, that's a really fun experience to be able to attend those jamborees and tournaments," she said. "But on the other hand, not everyone has the time or the resources, especially in recreational sport, to be able to do that travel."

MacDonald calls it the "professionalization of youth sports," and she saidit has consequences.

"You're expected to have the best, nicest equipment and have that team track suit and all of the swag. And I think that gets away from the main goal of youth participation in sport, which to me is to have a social outlet. It is to prioritize health and fitness and to be amongcommunities. So I do think that there's a ton of pressure financially and emotionally on athletes to participate and to do well."

That financial pressure has led to a big spike in requests for financial support. Last year, MacDonald's organization received around 300 applications for funding, she said. This year, they're looking at over 1,000. The grants are typically around $400 and go toward gear and registration fees.

WATCH | Vijai Krishnaswamy advises parents to plan ahead for the pricey months:

Paying for a child's sports a rising concern among parents

4 days ago

Duration 1:07

Financial advisor Vijai Krishnaswamy sees a growing number of people who say their children's sports have become a major annual expense, costing thousands of dollars every year.

Vijai Krishnaswamy,a financial advisor in Fredericton, said he has seen this challenge firsthand with some of his clients, particularly inthelast five years.

"It's something that is a driving force behind meeting with me sometimes," he said.

His goal is to provide an objective look at his clients' budgetand help them forecast what's to come. But the sports-related figures can be staggering. He said people are spending tens of thousands of dollars on sports every year for their kids.

And those costs can takea toll on the family budget.

"People are carrying a lot more household debt month over month," he said. "Especially with the parents who are really engaged in that upper echelon of competitive sports for their children, that line item has grown considerably.... It's just alarming to see."

Krishnaswamysaid he thinksthe growing costs area barrier to entry, even among middle and upper middle class clients. The magnitude of thecosts involved have become a major discussion point, he said, and he wonders if parents should speak up.

"Is it time for parents to come together and have a meaningful discussion with whatever governing body of whichever sport and say it is becoming unaffordable to them and at the detriment of their future selves."

As for Shannon Phillips, her family isplanning ahead. They curb their spending when they need to so that they stay on budget during the expensive sporting months.

"You might not be going out to eat with your friends as often, but you're saving that money for your next tournament when you're eating out with the team," she said."So just little things like that. We don't do concerts, we do hockey tournaments."